Detailed Description:Accelerate Kootenays is Canada's first community-driven, collaborative strategy to build a clean transportation network. This 2-year, $1.8 million initiative of the Regional Districts of East Kootenay, Central Kootenay and Kootenay-Boundary has funding and implementation support from Columbia Basin Trust, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Province of BC, FortisBC, BC Hydro and Teck. The project has created an electric vehicle (EV) charging station network to address a key infrastructure gap in BC.

With charging stations in place, the long-term impacts and benefits of the initiative include:
• Reduced transportation emissions;
• Action on local climate commitments; and
• Enhanced tourism and economic development.

The strategy, inspired by a vision of the Highway 3 Mayors' and Chairs' Coalition and initiated by the 3 Kootenay Regional Districts, exemplifies a collaborative approach to tackling local challenges of transportation emissions in a way that delivers numerous co­ benefits to communities region-wide.